The Cave
by kissesdarling
Summary: Tension boils to the surface while Chloe and Rush are alone in a cave. One shot.


Chloe had gotten to use the communication stones more often than anybody on board the ship. She was thankful for the chance to see her mom – to see Earth. But still, it wasn't her body. Her body was forever aboard Destiny, breathing the same stale, recycled air. Like half of the people aboard the vessel, she longed for more. She longed to breathe fresh air into her _own_ lungs, to taste the rain, and to feel the warm sun – any sun would do – on her _own_ skin.

The ship had just dropped out of FTL. Word spread quickly that the nearby planet was mainly a subtropical paradise. If Young wasn't careful, he'd have a stampede of people shoving their way through the gate.

There was no way he could deny the civilians access to daylight any longer. Everyone deserved the chance to see the sun every now and again. So, it was decided there would be a lottery. One lucky civilian would get to go down to the planet with the away team. Chloe held her breath as she heard her name read. The crowd immediately broke into pandemonium; naturally, everyone else wanted their chance, and many thought it was rather convenient that the senator's daughter would get first dibs at fresh air.

"Enough!" Young barked harshly. The chatter died down low enough for him to continue. "Think of today as an experiment. If today's mission goes well – without anybody getting hurt – there's a chance we can make a regular thing out of this. Each of you will get a turn at some shore leave."

That announcement seemed to calm the masses somewhat. Chloe was quickly pulled aside by Matt who was getting her geared up as other military personnel ushered the rest of the civilians out of the gate room.

Young walked over to Chloe who was getting strapped into a bullet-proof vest (apparently no precautions were to be spared).

"I want you to stick by Scott," he said quietly.

Chloe nodded.

"Ah, Miss Armstrong," Rush said as he strode briskly into the room. "I see you're the lucky winner."

The way he said the word "lucky" made it sound as though winning were quite the contrary.

"Rush," Young said gravely. "You look as though you're heading down to the planet."

"That's because I am, Colonel," was the overly casual reply. "I wish to catalogue the planet as thoroughly as possible while we're here. If we learn how to control Destiny's systems, we might be able to gate back here at will in the future. Perhaps make a settlement, if the planet proves as hospitable as it seems."

"Very well," replied the colonel through narrowed eyes. He shot a quick glance at Matt that Chloe barely caught, but she knew perfectly well what it meant: Rush was meant to be as thoroughly babysat as she.

They wasted no time traveling through the gate. On the other side of the puddle, they found a dense forest, colored richly green; above, just barely through the branches and leaves, they could see a pleasant, albeit overcast sky. It was beautiful.

Chloe closed her eyes and drank the fresh air through her nostrils, allowing it to fill her lungs as full as possible. She breathed as though she'd been suffocating before. She never thought fresh air could truly be addictive until that moment; she didn't want to leave that spot. She wanted to stay right there; she wanted the moment to last forever.

There was a fresh water lake nearby. Those who actually had business being there decided it would be a good idea to test the water. There was also a hill that likely offered a good vantage point. Greer and James decided to climb up there and see if there was any more to see on this planet.

Chloe took her helmet off – it was decidedly safe – and let the wind whip her brown hair in every direction. She couldn't help but giggle. Matt glanced in her direction; he didn't say it aloud – he was on duty – but he conveyed the notion plainly that she was beautiful. She smiled coyly in return, blushed, and sauntered towards some nearby bushes.

She crouched down. The bushes bore berries the exact color of a fresh raspberry, and she wagered they tasted just like raspberries too. She plucked one and gingerly sniffed it. It smelled very sweet like delicious food – a far cry from the tasteless slop they'd convinced themselves was edible on the ship.

"Don't do that," said a thick Scottish brogue.

"Why not?"

"Chances are it's poisonous," he said. He plucked a berry and scanned it with an ancient device. "Eat one of these and you'll vomit for hours. Eat two and your blood will begin to coagulate. They're highly toxic."

Chloe dropped the berry in her hand, wiping the imaginary germs onto the grass below.

"We're picking up an extraordinary level of microorganisms in the water," Brody said, grabbing their attention. "They're probably parasitic. Water from this source would have to be heavily filtered before it's ready to drink, but it would be interesting to know if other lakes here are also infested."

"Maybe James and Greer will be able to see another water source once they're up the hill," Matt said.

Several rapid, loud noises rang out in the distance in quick succession.

"What was that?" Chloe asked, but no one answered her.

"Greer, do you read me?" Matt asked through the radio. Silence. "James, come in."

Greer and James were long out of sight now.

"The shots were fired from the direction they were headed," Matt said quietly, readying his gun. Chloe's heart beat wildly as he walked over to her. He spoke softly. "Stay with the others."

She didn't want him to go, but she knew it was his job. And even if it wasn't, he'd still go. That was just him.

Meanwhile, the clouds had gone from light gray to slate; now they were developing a dark, greenish tinge. Thunder rumbled ominously nearby.

"We should head back to the gate," Rush said.

That suggestion frightened Chloe. He'd been keener than anyone to study this planet; if _he_ wanted to leave, something was definitely wrong.

The scientists quickly packed up their equipment.

"What about Matt and the others?" Chloe asked quickly. She felt sick.

"We'll radio them when we get back to Destiny," he said.

By this point, rain was falling so heavily from the sky it beat down the tree branches so that many of them were annoyingly at eye level. The rain was so heavy; it had no problem reaching their heads through the dense greenery. Chloe never realized how heavy military-issue garb was until it got wet. It was becoming increasingly difficult to pick her boots up out of the mud with each step. What was even more difficult was seeing where she was going. She couldn't see anyone after awhile and began to fear she'd trailed off from the others. Just as she was really starting to panic, a firm hand grabbed her elbow. She couldn't tell who it was; everything was a dense sheet of gray rain.

She was led through even more mud. She heard her rescuer cry, "This way!" and she knew that it was Rush. She followed him blindly. He would know the way back to the gate better than anyone.

They walked for what seemed to be about ten minutes. A couple of times along the way, Chloe sunk down beneath the weight of her clothes into the mud and Rush had to pull her up. She was miserable. She wasn't built for this.

Rush halted eventually and Chloe did so in turn. She saw a sort of darker gray mass ahead and naturally assumed that it was the gate. She sighed, relieved, as she was sure that Rush was dialing Destiny and that they would be back on the ship, warm and safe, any minute.

But that was not the case.

He grabbed her forearm and told her to duck; she was shocked, but helplessly obeyed.

They were in a cave. It was a deep cave – deep enough to offer shelter from the rain. For the first time in over half an hour they could see their surroundings.

"Where are the others?" Chloe asked, sinking down onto the stone below.

"I haven't a clue. Hopefully, they made it back to the gate. I lost track of them when I went back to find you."

"Well, then, where's the gate?" Chloe asked, but she grimly felt as though she already knew the answer. His silence confirmed it. She took a deep breath and said, as evenly as possible, "So, we're lost then?"

"Most definitely – until the storm passes, at least."

Ten minutes quickly became an hour in the dark cave. The rain showed no sign of letting up.

"They're going to leave without us, aren't they?" Chloe asked, shifting uncomfortably. Her hair was still sopping wet; it stuck to the sides of her face.

His eyes met with hers, before quickly looking away. "We still have more than two hours before Destiny jumps back into FTL."

She shivered. She'd been fighting the cold for awhile now, but she couldn't contain it any longer. She was freezing.

"Any chance of starting a fire?" she asked.

"There's nothing dry enough to burn."

He pulled a small flashlight out of his vest pocket and pointed it at her.

"Your lips are blue. You're developing hypothermia."

"That's bad," Chloe observed through chattering teeth.

"You need to warm up – _now_."

The urgency in his voice sent a shock of terror up her spine; he was right. She'd never been soaked to the bone this long before. Her fingers were so numb they felt like foreign objects instead of parts of her own anatomy.

"That jacket's holding in water. You need to lose it. And the vest."

She did as she was told; he removed his as well. She was surprised to find that her shirt under the bullet-proof vest had remained somewhat dry.

She hugged herself, rubbing her arms violently to bring some heat into them.

"This isn't working."

"That's because you need another source of body heat."

Chloe's eyes widened; she wondered exactly what he meant, and she began to feel a little nervous. It was silly – especially under the circumstances – but it was there nonetheless. She hoped her cheeks weren't reddening.

"We need to stick close together. It's the only way to raise our temperatures at the moment."

She nodded and held very still as he, somewhat awkwardly, scooted closer to her and put his arms around her. Her first reaction was to tense up, but she quickly relaxed as he ran his hands over her arms quickly, warming her some.

"Your skin is like ice," he commented; she merely nodded in reply.

"This is the second time you've saved me," she said after a few moments of silence.

He said nothing.

She wished she could unsay the last thing she said. It wasn't because she didn't mean it – it was because she did. She loved Matt, but it didn't stop her growing admiration – practical reverence – for the man whose arms she was currently in. To her, he was untouchable, but there he was touching her. She was pressed against him so closely that she could smell his neck; the scent soothed her. In his arms, she felt like she was safe. He was so capable and confident. He was always ten steps ahead and she knew, without a doubt, that he already knew how he was going to get them back to Destiny safely.

He eventually spoke.

"I have to admit, I would rather be stuck here with you than anyone else on that ship. They all have their own agendas and machinations. You can never trust them. But you – you don't. You're not lying and scheming."

"Yet," she said; they both knew it was the cold, hard truth. It was only a matter of time before Destiny changed her, and would force her to grow up way too quickly.

She looked up into his eyes and lost all remnants of self-control. She seized his lips and kissed him hard, flinging her tongue into his mouth, grasping hopelessly for some kind of passion. His lips brushed hers once – the only hint of a return kiss – before he pulled away. He pushed the hair out of her eyes and looked down at her tenderly; she could see the pain behind his brown orbs.

"You're just a wee lass," he said. "And a proper one at that. You know I'm not any good. I'm not even good for myself."

"Your lips were just there."

"Don't waste your goodness on me."

"I couldn't help it."

There was nothing more to say after that, so they said nothing at all.

After the rains began to slow, they ventured out into the forest again where they met a much disheveled Matt, as well as Greer and James who were alive, but looked a little worse for wear. Matt wrapped his arm around her as they walked back to the gate, telling her the story of the giant lizards that lived on the hill, and how he single-handedly rescued his teammates who'd unwittingly wandered into a nesting mother's den. And she smiled, happy to have him back.

He would never need to know about her time in the cave.


End file.
